ESPN analyst Merril Hoge believes Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel is a "juvenile punk" and has "no business" playing in the NFL. In addition to comparing Manziel to Tim Tebow, Hoge also said the rookie has already infuriated coaches and players across the league with his antics.
Hoge has never been a Johnny Football fan, and on Wednesday the analyst tore into Manziel during an interview on 102.5 WDVE.
"There is nothing that he does that transitions to the NFL," Hoge said, via Larry Brown Sports. "There's not one skillset he has that you say, 'Gosh, he's a first rounder...' This guy has no business playing. If they put him in, quite honestly, it's not helping their chances to win. It's jeopardizing their chances to win.
"He has no business being on the field right now."
His assessment of Manziel continued, saying the former Heisman winner hasn't even been able to grasp the dumbed-down playbook Cleveland gave him.
Then came the Tebow comparison.
"This will be the saddest, quickest ending we have seen in quite some time," Hoge said. "It'll be like a Tim Tebow (situation)."
Finally, Hoge indicated he wasn't the only one not enamored with Manziel.
"When he texted the Browns and said, 'Let's wreck this league,' that didn't just burn players - it infuriates coaches," Hoge said. "Coaches are like, 'Really?' Peyton Manning hasn't wrecked this league. (Aaron) Rodgers, Adrian Peterson ... nobody wrecks this league. This league is a hard league to play in."
Manziel is a backup quarterback who constantly fills the headlines, with the media reporting on his every move and companies clamoring to give him endorsement deals. Despite the circus-like publicity, Manziel failed to win the Browns' starting job and will begin his rookie campaign on the bench.
